A dad-of-two and Army reservist who normally works as an NHS medic has been training with Australian soldiers in the subtropical bushland of New South Wales on one of the first military exercises of its kind.

Sergeant Paul Maher, from Newcastle, was among a Platoon of 30 reservists from the 4th Battalion of The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment who spent a week living and working outdoors in the harsh bush landscape surrounding Lone Pine Barracks, home to the Australian Army School of Infantry, north of Sydney.

Paul, 35, has been working as an Infantry Platoon Sergeant, living under canvas and patrolling under the vast skies of New South Wales, a far cry from his day job as an orthopaedic practitioner.

“This is my hobby,” he said. “I get an enormous amount out of it, including fitness, and a different kind of stress. It’s great to experience another army’s way of doing things and their weapons systems.

“Through this exercise the Australians are getting the benefit of the experience that many of our lads have had in recent years in Iraq and Afghanistan, but we’re also learning from them too. It’s useful to work with other nations that we might deploy with on future operations – if we’ve already worked together we are singing off the same hymn sheet.”

Paul is married to Camilla, and has two young daughters, Aoife, five, and Alannah, two. He has been a Reservist for 18 years, and has served everywhere from Belgium to Iraq.

“My colleagues think I’m mad but my family is very supportive. Without my wife’s support I wouldn’t be here in Australia,” he said.

The unit, which mostly recruits from across North West England, was taking part in a 400-strong training exercise alongside Australian Army reservists - the first time a British Army Reserve unit has been invited to do so.

The British troops have been working under the command of the combined Battlegroup Waratah; composed of the 8th and 5th Brigades of the Australian Army. It tested the British Reservists’ ability to work with a partner nation’s equipment, navigate in unfamiliar territory, clear safe routes through dangerous areas, and take part in joint offensive operations.

They also faced the challenges of a unique natural environment as deadly as any enemy, including boot-piercing cactus thorns, venomous snakes and kangaroos.